Inquiry-based is centered on posing problems or questions instead of directly instructing individuals on the knowledge and skills. This approach is commonly employed in different levels of educational institutions. For instance, college students, whether majoring in social science or natural science, encounter pop-quizzes, mid-term exams, and finals which comprise numerous problems. Instructors utilize inquiry-based learning to test and evaluate students, meanwhile students reinforce their understanding by solving problems within specific time limits. By default, a hybrid teaching mode commonly found in educational institutions combines direct instruction with inquiry-based learning: instructors deliver lectures to impart knowledge (DI), students review knowledge outside classes and prepare for exams and final. Students take midterm exams and final on exam days (inquiry-based learning).

The learning resource in our group is no exception: we would also adhere to this hybrid pattern. In first half of each sub-topic, students are assigned tasks that require them to either read the relevant book or watch video clips. Student acquire knowledge through such a way of direct instruction. More importantly, without some problems, students may not ensure the extent to which they have mastered the knowledge. By this reasoning, in the second half of each sub-topic, we would design many problems that based upon the required reading or watching.

Inquired-based learning aligns well with the topic of music history, which relies to some extent on memorization. Many students generate the existing misconceptions by not having read carefully the relevant materials. Even if some students do read the materials carefully, their memorization diminished significantly after a short or long time. By designing and posing problems, students are prompted to retrieve what they have previously read or watched in the first half of each subtopic. Establishing these problems in World Press also allows students to take the quizzes as many times as they need. We are confident that this approach will lead to successful learning outcomes and provide an accurate evaluation of students’ performance.